MacBook Air Refresh Coming in June?

Best Buy recently put current generation MacBook Air models on sale, which is a rather unusual move unless they are trying to clear inventory ahead of a refresh. MacBook Pro models are also on sale, but only last generation models. Apple has widely been expected to move the MacBook Air line to newer Sandy Bridge processors for some time now.

Although the deals at Best Buy are unusual, they are hardly earth shattering discounts. The 11-inch MacBook Air is now selling with a $60 discount, while the 13-inch model is going for $65 less than the full retail price. Apple also recently discounted refurbished MacBook Air models as well, with the 11-inch model now selling for an all time low of $829.

The move to Intelís latest generation Sandy Bridge processors will also spell the end of NVIDIAís GeForce 320M graphics processor for the MacBook Air. It will be replaced with Intelís own embedded graphics chipset, which if current MacBook Proís are any indication, will offer slower graphics performance. On the upside, however, these new models are expected to also include the latest Thunderbolt high-speed connectors that were introduced earlier this year.

It's been noted, however, that the price drops may simply indicate weaker demand for the MacBook Air, as they still use older generation CPUís. In the past, Apple has been on a 2-year refresh cycle with the MacBook Air line. Hopefully, they wonít wait that long this time, as the elegant MacBook Air line deserves to be updated with the latest generation processors.

If youíve been wanting to buy a new MacBook Air then you might just want to wait a little bit longer, if you can, because the new models are expected to be released sometime in June or July at the latest.